Vending-machine.



C. L. HUGHES & C. E. HOWARD.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATIONHLED JULY 13. 19I5.

1,250,179. Patented De0.18,1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 'l C. L. HUGHES & C. E. HOWARD.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 13, 1915.

Patented Dec. 18, 1917. v

2 SHEETSS-HEET 2 Urn era FFTC CLEMENT 'L. HUGHES AND CHARLES E. HOWARD, or LEWISTOWN, ILLmoIs.

' VENDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pfatentedl Dec}. 18, 1917.

' Application filed July 13, 1915. Serial No. 89,677.

- To all whom it may concern: Be it known that we, CLEMENT L. HUGHES and CHARLES HOWARD, citizens of the United States, residing, at Lewistown, the county of Fulton and State of Illinois,- have invented certain new and useful Improveinents in Vending-Machines; and we do hereby declare that the followlng 1s a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improvement in vending machines. It relates particularly to new'structures used in connection with a coin controlled cigar vending machine though applicable to machines for.

vending other classes of goods, such asstick candy, package goods, gum, and the like.

One of the objects of the invention is to furnish a very simple form of coin controlled vending machine' in which is. included means for insuring the positive delivery of one article of sale for each coin inserted.

Another object is to combine a coin released mechanism which will operate to permit the discharge .of one article of sale and means to insure the positive delivery of one article for each coin'inserted.

Besides the above objects the invention relates to certain details of construction in a coin controlled vending machine as will be pointed out in the following specification aided'by the appended drawings forming a part of this application, and in which,

Figure 1 is an elevation of one side of V the machine with a covering cap removed.

Fig. 6 shows,"in perspective, a portion of a delivery member for the goods to be dis pensed.

Y A indicates any suitable casing to inclose the goods to bedispensed and the coin controlled and dispensing mechanism, B being an extension thereof to receive the goods to be dispensed or any package, or box, or car- 'ton, C from which certain goods such as cigars are usually displayed and from which they are sold. D is a shaft, extending through the casing, being provlded at one end'with a suitable knob or grasping piece E by which it may be turned to deliver the article offered for sale. I

Mounted on said shaft D within the easing is an article delivering member F which preferably takes the form of a segment of a cylinder, as indicated in the various figures,

its normal position being shown in full lines -in Fig. 4. Lying between the side walls of the casing is a shelf G upon which the goods to'be dispensed lie, or upon which lies the box, package or carton C containing the goods. i

The member F is provided with a recess in its cylindrically curved wall H, the

metal of said wall H being bent inwardly in the direction of its axis of oscillation, the shaft D, to form'the walls K, said recess in said normal position of said member F lying just above the shelf G so that the lower of the 'two Walls as in Fig. 4 lies substantially opposite said shelf whereby the goods may enterthe recess by gravity or by means 'not necessary to describe herein.

The recess is open toward the shaft D,

and inward from the wall H is a stationary cylindrically curved.member L whose Wall is concentric with the said wall H, as plainly shown --in Fig. 4, constituting the bottom of saidrecess. Said member L has a forwardly and downwardly slantingv wall Nte'rminating in a curved shelf or pocket O lying outside the casing at the front, said shelf or pocket being extended through an opening Pin the case through which a delivered article of sale may pass in reaching said shelf or pocket for its delivery to the .customer. The cylindrically curved wall M where it joins the wall N terminates at a position above the shaft D by preference,

so that said wall N will occupy the described downwardly and forwardly slanting position. I

, relative locations understood, but these parts will form the subject of a separate application and'hence will not be claimed broadly herein, the present application being directed to the mechanism for delivering a piece of goods, the release of said mechanism by means of a coin, and the mechanism by which a piece of goods will be depositedor delivered for each coin inserted, as pointed out in the objects above. I

Secured upon the shaft D in any good manner isa plate Q. For example, a set screw R extends into a projecting hub S of said plate and engages the shaft D, but any other means may be employed. Said plate is provided in its edge with. a notch T creating a projecting tooth T with which a pawl U pivoted on the inner wall V of the machine engages, as will be described more fully presently.

W is a spring attached at one end in any suitable manner to the plate and at its other 'end in any preferred mannerto the said wall V, the same being constantly under tension tending at all times to rotate the plate to the right as viewed in the 2 is a flange extending from the wall V, part of which lies behind the pawl U mentio-ned and partially following the outline of the plate Q; and thence terminating in a runway 3 for delivering a coin dropped thereon into a till or drawer l suitably arranged to receive said coin. The plate is provided with a. lug 5 which by means of the 8 and a flange late Q, provide lodgment for a coin indi said spring W is normally held against a tooth 6 of said flange whereby the said plate Qwill be limited ,in its movement due to said spring and always take up the same position after the delivery of .an article of sale. The pawl U described lies in position where it will engage in'the notch T whenever the plate Q is turned by means of the knob B when no coin has been inserted by which the pawlcan be raised.

A contractile spring 7 is attached at one end of the pawl andat its other end to the casing in any suitable manner in such a po- 'sition as to holdthe pawl upon the edge of the plate Q except, when, by a. coin, it is lifted to permit the plate to turn. On its inner or back surface the pawl is provided with a lug 8 Extending from the wall V is a lug 9, which, together with the said lug 10 on the inner face of the cated at 11.

12 is a suitable chute lying beneath a coin slot 13 in the top of the case which receives and guides the coin to the position -indicated between the lugs.

17 represents any usual magnet lying adjacent the path ofthe inserted coin whereing prevented site position or by slugs will be diverted from the path of the coin or prevented at least from reaching the position where the'mathine can be operated to release one of the articles of sale.-

Spaced from the notch T is a notch 14 in the edge of the plate Q, and 15 is a pawl pivoted on the wall V, one end of which normally lies therein, and a spring 16 is connected at its end to it and the wall, which maintains saidpawl normally in the position shown in Fig. 1.

18 is a second notch lower down upon the edge of the plate and between the'two notches the edge of the plate is serrated or toothed at 19 in such manner that the pawl 15 can engage any one of the. teeth or serrations for the purposes tobe described.

In the operation of the device a coin upon reaching the position indicated in Fig. 1 will permit the machine to be operated by means of the knob E, that is to say, the plate Q may now be turned to the left, be-

lug 5 and tooth 6, the flange 10 of the plate '6); pushing the coin upward and to the left as is shown in Fig, 1 resulting in lifting the pawl U, the latter'ly'ing a sufficient distance from the notch T to permit the plate to be turned sufliciently to raise said pawl and eject the coin before the projection T of the plate reaches it. Said pawl, however, is not permitted to dropuntil the projection has passed beneath it. As the projection passes beneath the end of the pawl, the latter, unless otherwise prevented, would of course return upon the edge of the plate. The latter can now be turned to its full limit to discharge an article which may lie within the notch J of the member F upon the wall N of the member L. The limit of movement of the said member F is shown in broken lines in Fig. 4 wherein the recess J of that member has passed beyond the curved wall of the member L or to a position where the article, a cigar for example, will be delivered beyond the wall N into the pocket 0. That this "movement of the member F will be a complete one and that said member cannot be returned to its initial position until after the member F has reached a position to deliver the article, we have provided the pawl 15 already described. That is to say, when the plate Q, is turned to the left the toothed edge of the plate is engaged by said pawl, lifting the latter against the spring-'16, said pawl clicking over all of the teeth or serrations until, the notch 18 having arrived opposite said pawl, the latter can regain its normal position due to the width of said notch so that upon the return movement of the plate the pawl will then take up and'occupy the oppothat shown in broken lines in Fig.- 2, letting the plate return to its norturning to the right by the mal position. However, should the knob E be released during its delivery movement, said pawl, as shownin fulllines in the figure last referred to will prevent the return of thejplate to it normal position. The delivery movement must therefore be com- .pleted before .the parts are free for further tively prevented.

-is not suchas to permit the pawl 15 to en gage the teeth 19 and prevent the return- The flange 10 is designed to prevent a second coin that may lie in the coin chute from leaving said chute during the time the first coin is being used to cause the delivery of an article of sale and it is only when the parts resume their normal positions that said second coin ispermitted to leave the chute to take up its position for--the next operation. v

- we may use the end of the flange 10 as the only means for lodgment for the coin in the pawl lifting movement on the member Q, 2'. e. without equiring the projection 9 although the use oflthe latter is preferred.

It is to be understood thatthe distance of movement the member Q, is permitted to have, until its tooth T strikes the pawl U,

movement of said member to a position to receive the C0111. g v

In connection with the mechanlsm del scribed we have provided and now-describe a simple means for causing the positive delivery of an article of sale for each coin inserted. In the wallM of the member L is an opening 20, Fig. 3, in which lies a trip 21 pivoted between its ends between lugs or ears 22, for eXa-mple, depen ding from the inner surfaceof said wall M. One end of thetrip projects above the upper surface of said wall, the other lying inside the member L, having attached thereto a spring 23 by which to maintain said trip in an upright position. 24 is a tubular member secured in any good manner in a horizontal position within the device as by securing its ends between the side walls, as indicated in Fig. 5, said member lying within the member L. The end walls of the member F are slotted as indicated at 25, in Fig. 4, to permit said member L to swing with the shaft D without interference from said member 24.

Mounted longitudinally within the tubular member is a slide 26 which extends through the wall V to form a stop for the pawl U as will appear presently. 27 is a roller mounted within the tubular member 24, and 28 is a cord attached at one end to the inner end, of the trip 21 and passing J approaches over said roller, having attachment at its 31 attached thereto and to the memberL,

for ekample, whereby the slide is constantly forced in the direction of the pawl. U. When the pawl lies in the position shown in Fig. 1 the end of the slide lies against its inner surface, whereas in Fig. 2, the .pawl being raised due to the coin the slide is protected beneath the latter by the springs 31 to hold the pawl positively in its lifted position in opposition to the pull of the spring 7.

As has been stated with regard to Fig. 4,

the member F has reached its limit of movement for the delivery of an article of sale.-

Each wall K of the member F is provided with an opening 32 which allows said member topass beyond the trip without interfering with it. The ci-gan.. or other article of sale carried in the recess J--is the medium which operates the trip as the member F and arrives at its limit of movement.

.Normally, the slide or. stop'26 rests against the'pawl U, as has been stated, butthe friction between the two is not suflicient to prevent said pawl being easily lifted by the coin discharging means. raised the slide is pushed outward beneath it to prevent its return upon the plate untilan article has been delivered. If an article has not been picked upin the recess J the trip will not be operated and consequently the pawl will be held away from the plate Q, until an article has been properly picked up and delivered. Now, a cigar or other article in this recess upon meeting the trip will carry it forward and downward to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 4.

pulling upon the cord 28- to withdraw the slide so that the pawl U may now descend upon the edge of the plate Q so that the latter having returned to'its'initial position cannot again be operated until another coin has been inserted. In consequence of the structures named the pawl will be maintained in its raised position as long as there is movement of the trip to withdraw the slide so that the positive delivery of an article for each coininserted must result.

Any form of device for receiving and delivering the article to be purchased may be used, that shown herein being but oneof the "possible forms to employ, and other As the pawl is Having thus described the invention, we I claim 1. In acoi-n controlled vending machine l LL21 the combination of a goods dispensing mem ber and a device for normally preventing its movement for delivery of an article of sale, a part adapted to automatically engage said device when operated to release the dispensingmember, and a trip operatively connected with the part and lying in the path of movement of an article of sale and moved by it toretract said part and release said device.

. 2. In a coin controlled vending machine, the combination with a member mounted to oscillate and a goods dispensing member movable with it, a pawl adapted to prevent the movement of the first said member in one direction and operated to release said first member through the instrumentality of a coin, a part normally and elastically held in the direction of the pawl and adaptedto engage and hold the same when disengaged from said member, a trip lying inthe path of an article of sale in said goods dispensing member and operatively engaging said part and adapted to retract the latter to release the pawl by contact of an article of sale in its passage to its place of delivery.

'3. In a coin controlled vending machine, the combination of a member mounted to oscillate and a goods dispensing member to oscillate therewith, a pawl adapted to prevent rotation of the first said member in a direction to deliver articles of sale, said pawl adapted to be operated to liberate the said first member through the instrumentality of a coin interposed between the said first described member and said pawl, a part held elastically in a direction of the pawl and adapted to automatically engage and hold the same disengaged from the said first member, and a trip mounted in the v path of and engaged by an article of sale carried in said goods dispensing member and operatively engaging the said part and adapted to withdraw it from-engagement with the pawl upon such engagement therewith of said article of sale.

4. In a coin controlled vending machine, the combination of a member for dispensing at each movement,a single article of sale,

a device for normally preventing its move ment and disengaged therefrom through the instrumentality of a coin, a part to engage said device for holding it- -disengaged from operative engagement with the member for permitting the free movement of the same for the delivery of a single article of sale, and a trip located in the path of and engaged by an article ofsale carried in said dispensing member as said article. is moved to the place of delivery, saidtrip operatiyely engaging the part to operate the same and release said device. g

5. In a coin controlled vending machine,

the combination of a member mounted to oscillate and a goods dispensing device movneath the pawl.

able with it, aprojection on said member,

a chute having a mouth terminating opposite said projection, a pawl normally engaging the member and adapted to prevent its rotation, said'pawl and the said projection providing lodgment for a coin, the member adapted, when'turned, to lift the pawl therefrom through the instrumentality of said coin, and permit said member torotate, and a part held elastically in the direction of the pawl and adapted to. automatically engage the same and hold it free of the said member when moved away fromit, and a trip operatively connected with said-part adapted to be operated to retract the latter by and upon the delivery of'one article of sale. 6. In a coin controlled vending machine, the combination of a cylindrically curved goods dispensing member adapted to oscillate, its axis of movement lying at the point 5 from which the curved surface is described, said member havingan opening therein extending longitudinally of the same and including a Wall at each side of said opening extending'in substantially the direction of the axis of movement, said opening adapted to receive and hold an article of sale, a trip lying within said member in the path of said article of sale carried in said opening, the

described walls each having 'an opening in 95 line with the said trip for thepassage of -the same therethrough and whereby in the movement of the member an article of sale carried in said opening will engage and operate said trip, mechanism for normally prem venting movement of said member including a .pawl operated in an initial movement of the member through'the instrumentality of a coin introduced thereto, and a part held elastically in the direction of the pawl to antomatically hold the same 'free of the balance of said mechanism when disengaged by said coin, said trip operatively engaging said part and, due to an article engaging it, retracting the said part.

7. In a vending machine, a memberada'pted to receive and carry an article to be vend- 8. In a vending machine, a manually op- 'erated member adapted for receiving and delivering one article of 'sale including a part fixed relatively to it and movable therewith, a pawl to engage the part and prevent the movement of thedmemher from its ini tial or normal position, means in conjuncand-adapted to prevent the return of the pawl when disengaged, a trip lying nor.-

madly in the path of travel-of the said article of" sale carried by the manually operated member and engaged and moved by said article as it approaches the place of delivery, andmeans connecting thetrip and the last named member adapted in the movement of I thetrip to withdraw the member fr'omthe "15 pawl and permit it to engage the 'said part. In testimony whereof I aflix my signature,

in presence of two, witnesses. CLEMENT L. HUGHES.

Witnessesz- W. I'. SLEMMONS,

L. M. THURLow.

In testimony whereof I aflix mysignatur, in'presence of two Witnesses. a CHARLES E. HOWARD.

Witnesses: I 1

FRED B. Lnmir, Cnnss V. GROAT. 

